Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo goes after campaign billboards in Awka and environs; says they constitute obstructions and deface the landscape.
Anambra State Government begins pulling down of campaign billboards mounted illegally across the state from 5 December, an agency warned.
The warning followed complaints by Gov Chukwuma Soludo that political adverts deface the landscape of Awka and also cause obstructions.
The State’s outdoor advertising regulator consequently banned individuals, clients and government agencies from erecting billboards on their own. This, it hoped, will sanitize the landscape by leaving the business in the hands of outdoor advertsing agencies.
In a statement the agency promised to henceforth deface or pull down all “illegal” outdoor boardings in the capital city.
The Agency advised owners of such billboards to quickly register and pay for them to avoid the risk.
Consequently, the regulator – Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA) – gave the parties a 2-week deadline to comply.
The ultimatum expires on 5 December 2022, ANSAA Managing Director, Mr. Tony Ujubuonu, s.
Ujubuonu disclosed that ANSAA wrote to out-of-home ad agencies on 14 November to revalidate and register their billboards.
“Having done this, the agency expected maximum cooperation from the practitioners in terms of registering their billboards and payment of campaigns, but they are yet to comply.
“As a result, the agency has directed all billboard owners to provide the information required to register each billboard and also pay up for any campaign on them.
He urged candidates to check that agencies handling their campaigns paid for billboards “to avoid ANSAA defacing their campaign materials.”
Ujubuonu warned politicians ignorantly mounting billboards on their own that this is “wrong and illegal.”
The agency will bring down illegal billboards without notice as well as permanently seize and auction the structure, he said.
“It is the wish of the agency that by the 5th of December 2022, all billboards in the state must have been duly registered and paid for, as legal enforcement would start after that date”.
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